Ranked by US News & World Report as one of the top twenty Best Liberal Arts Colleges, Smith College has undoubtedly established itself as one of the premier universities in the country. Through a myriad of academic programs, dedicated faculty, and a 147-acre campus, Smith College has been nurturing some of the brightest minds for over a century, and is one of the leading educational institutions for women in the nation.
Although Smith currently serves some 2,600 undergraduates on its grounds, their goal of providing accessible and empowering programs to young women isn’t limited to just college students—Smith also offers a variety of options for high school students as well, allowing these individuals a chance to experience college life through the school’s summer programs.
For those interested in pursuing engineering, medical, or science-related studies, Smith’s Summer Science and Engineering Program (SSEEP) is the perfect opportunity for a hands-on experience. This four-week residential program emphasizes learning by doing, rather than merely listening and watching. Students are able to take two 2-week research courses, encompassing everything from laboratory experiments, to field lectures, to small team-based projects. In addition to scientific exploration, students are also able to live on campus along with SSEP interns, who serve as supervisors, advisers and teaching/research assistants, and the SSEP residential director, who is in charge of all aspects of students’ residential life.
Another science-based avenue available to high school students is Smith’s Field Studies for Sustainable Futures program. Students work in small groups to move beyond “green”, toward understanding what will be necessary to achieve a sustainable future and healthy environment. Through this program students learn how the spaces where they live, work and play can be designed to improve the environment, instead of destroying it. Activities include visits to sites constructed with high environmental standards in mind, analysis of local agriculture (including the very food served at Smith!) and farmer’s markets, as well as dance practices, described “as a way of understanding how our bodies and movement participate in both architectural and landscape ecologies.”
While there are a number of science-focused courses, Smith also offers an assortment of programs geared towards those that are artistically inclined. The Young Women’s Writing Workshop is an ideal experience for those looking to pursue the written word, and a chance to work with professors that are all published writers and poets. Classes are structured in a workshop format, allowing students to focus on a single lesson and hone their craft. Through this program students have the opportunity to enroll in courses such as Creating Fiction: From Start to Published, Food, Place and the Self: Writing from Experience, Constructing the Graphic Novel, and Poetry Development. Participants are encouraged to explore the campus for inspiration, and harness the creative energy from the school’s thriving student community.
Adding to programs which skew towards the arts, the experience involved in the Hidden Lives: Discovering Women’s History program is unparalleled. This thirteen-day course seeks to engage those interested in understanding women’s history and in discovering what it was like to be a young woman in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the day, students shuffle between classrooms and a variety of local sites. On campus, participants work in the Smith College Archives—a location which houses one of the world’s largest collections of women’s history documents—and the Smith College Museum of Art. Students will also partake in field trips to places like Old Sturbridge Village and stops on the underground railroad, and learn to perform 19th-century “women’s work,” like cooking over a hearth.
If you’re a high school student looking to experience college life in a unique capacity, Smith’s Summer Programs are second to none. From science to the arts, and modern day to times past, Smith College provides specialized opportunities you will not find anywhere else.